View source for Cherskii–Kolyma mountain tundra

{{Short description|Ecoregion in Russia}}
{{Infobox ecoregion
|name = Ecoregion: Cherskii-Kolyma mountain tundra
|image = Гора Победа, Якутия.jpg
|image_size = 300
|image_alt =
|caption = [[Peak Pobeda, Sakha|Mount Pobeda]], [[Ulakhan-Chistay Range|Ulakhan-Chistay]], [[Chersky Range]]
|map = Ecoregion PA1103.png
|map_size = 300
|map_alt = Ecoregion territory (in purple)
|map_caption = Ecoregion territory (in purple)
|ecozone = Palearctic
|biome = [[Tundra]]
|animals =
|bird_species =
|mammal_species =
|border =
|borders =
|area = 556589
|country =
|countries = Russia
|state =
|region_type =
|elevation =
|coordinates = {{coords|65.75|143.75|display=it}}
|geology =
|seas =
|rivers =
|climate =
|soil =
|conservation =
|global200 =
|habitat_loss =
|habitat_loss_ref =
|protected =
|protected_ref =
}}
The '''Cherskii–Kolyma mountain tundra''' [[ecoregion]] (WWF ID: PA1103) is an ecoregion that covers the higher elevations of the [[Chersky Range]] and the [[Kolyma Mountains]], the only large mountain range in northern [[Russia]].  It is in the [[Palearctic realm]], and [[tundra]] biome.  It has an area of {{convert|556589|km2|mi2}}.<ref name="gs1">{{cite web|title=Cherskii-Kolyma mountain tundra|url=https://www.globalspecies.org/ecoregions/display/PA1103|publisher=GlobalSpecies.org|language=en|access-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219182314/http://globalspecies.org/ecoregions/display/PA1103|archive-date=December 19, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="wwf">{{cite web|title=Cherskii-Kolyma mountain tundra|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1103|publisher=World Wildlife Federation|language=en|access-date=November 20, 2018}}</ref>
== Location and description ==
The ecoregion encompasses terrain above 800 meters in the Chersky Range and Kolyma Mountains, in a mosaic of territory stretching 2,000&nbsp;km from the [[Lena River]] in the west to the eastern edge of the Kolyma Mountains, and approximately 1,000&nbsp;km from the [[Okhotsk Sea]] in the south to the coastal plain of the [[Arctic Sea]] in the north.  The highest peaks reach 3,000 meters at [[Peak Pobeda, Sakha|Peak Pobeda]].
== Climate ==
Most of the region has a [[Subarctic climate|Subarctic climate - very cold]] (Koppen classification Dfd).  This climate is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers with no month averaging over {{convert|22|C|F}}, and only one to three months in which the mean temperature rises above {{convert|10|C|F}}.   Mean precipitation is about 237&nbsp;mm/year.  The mean temperature at the center of the ecoregion is {{convert|-46.8|C|F}} in January, and {{convert|10.6|C|F}} in July.<ref name="gs-climate">{{cite web|title=Climate Data for Latitude 65.75 Longitude 143.75|url=https://www.globalspecies.org/weather_stations/climate/648/312|publisher=GlobalSpecies.org|language=en|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031125/https://www.globalspecies.org/weather_stations/climate/648/312|archive-date=December 16, 2018}}</ref>
== Flora and fauna ==
Only hardy species can survive year around at altitude in this ecoregion.  A few stands of [[larch]] may reach up to 1,000 meters, above that to about 1,900 meters might be found sub-alpine dwarf pine, followed by a thin zone of alpine tundra to 2,200 meters, and no plants above 2,200 meters.<ref name="krestov">{{cite CiteSeerX |title=Forest Vegetation of Easternmost Russia |author=Pavel V. Krestov |language=en|citeseerx=10.1.1.624.5490}}</ref>
== Protections ==
There is one significant nationally protected area that reaches into this ecoregion, the [[Magadan Nature Reserve]], on the southern edge of the ecoregion along the sea of Okhotsk.
== See also ==
* [[List of ecoregions in Russia]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherskii-Kolyma mountain tundra}}
[[Category:Ecoregions of Russia]]
[[Category:Palearctic ecoregions]]
[[Category:Tundra ecoregions]]